This ground-breaking new book is the first to offer a comprehensive theory and method for a critical sociology of sport. It argues that class, political economy, hegemony and other concepts central to the radical tradition are essential for framing, understanding and changing social and political relations within sport and between sport and society. It takes the reader through the big themes in the discipline, including social history, sociological and political theory, comparative research and ethnography, this book is essential reading for any serious student of sport.